Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 152,154 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,145,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 152,154 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.12% of Xcel Energy worth $414,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,595,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,421,000 after acquiring an additional 312,791 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $1,161,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $1,829,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $975,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. 77.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $58.68 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.11 and a 52 week high of $75.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.05). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Xcel Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Xcel Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $72.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $64.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.15.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, oil, wood/refuse, and wind energy sources.